Bucket conveyer structure



Oct. 28, 1952 H. w. HAPMAN BUCKET CONVEYER STRUCTURE Original Filed March 18, 1944 Bnventor G ornegs Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED stares TENT EJFICE BUCKET CONVEYER STRUCTURE n Original application March 18, 1944, Serial No. 527,036. Divided and this application July 30, 1948, Serial No. 41,512 v Y The present invention relates to improvements in driers and, more particularly, to a conveyor structure therefor. n

One object of the invention is to provide a drier and conveyor structure therefor, having a novel lling means arranged relative to the conveyor buckets so as to eliminate the waste and loss of material while the buckets are being lled as they pass beneath the loading hopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor structure of the above-mentioned type having weighted tripping members on the end plates of the conveyor buckets so as to Amaintain the buckets in a horizontal position for the major portion of their sinuous travel through the drier housing and provide means for engaging said Weighted tripping members adjacent the loading station so as to tilt the buckets slightly as they travel beneath the filling hopper whereby the rear edge of each bucket will be elevated above the front edge of an adjacent bucket as the buckets travel beneath the filling hopper which causes the material to ow to the various buckets and provides a cutoff between the buckets so as to eliminate the spilling of the material being conveyed and dried between said buckets.

This is a division of my zzo-pending application Serial No. 527,036, filed March 18, 1944, for Combined Drier and Conveyor Structure Therefor, which has matured into U. S. Patent No. 2,476,- 039 of July 12, 1949.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a bucket conveyor structure arranged to prevent loss ci material by material falling between the buckets;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the conveyor structure shown in Figure l showing the mechanism for slightly tilting each leading bucket as it passes beneath the loading station so as to cause its rearward edge to be raised above the forward edge of the trailing or succeeding to 3 inclusive show a bucket conveyor structure,

according to a preferred form of the invention, as including a pair of conveyorchains, generally designated 5, supported by spaced opposed channel guide members 6 (Figure 3) opening toward one another. Each conveyor chain includes 8 Claims. (Cl. 198-56) inner and outer links 1 and 8 respectively, the alternate pairs thereof being interconnected by pivot pins 9 (Figure 1). The other ends ofthe inner and outer links 'I and 8 are interconnected by the conveyor bucket supporting shafts I0 and rollers II and I2 are disposed on the chain pivot v pins 9 and conveyor supporting shafts I0 respectively, with the rollers supported between the ends of said pairs of links. The rollers Il and I2 are adapted to travel in the opposed channelways E. p

Pivotally mounted on and suspended from each shaft IIl is a conveyor bucket generally designated I3 the ends of which are supported by a pair of end plates I4. The end platesl I4 are provided with enlarged bearing bosses I5 having openings It for receiving a tubular shaft I'I (Figure 3) which is rotatably mounted on the conveyor bucket supporting shaft II, thevk bearing bosses being welded to the endslof the tubular shaft Il. The extreme ends ofeach tubular shaft i1 project laterally and engage theV innermost outer link 8 of the conveyor chain so as tol hold said chains in spaced apart relation, ,The end plates I4 are provided along their top edges with flanges I8 for engaging a slide trackway I9 (Figure 2) supported by theopposed channel guide, B by means of suitable brackets 20, so as to hold the buckets I3 against limited swinging movement of the supporting shaft I0 as` illustrated in Figure 2 as the buckets traverse the loading station or fillnghopper. The end plates I4 of the conveyor buckets I3 are provided withv vertical ribs 2l having enlargedA weighted portions 22 at the lower ends thereof to project laterally from the end walls of the conveyor buckets and provide tilting means for the buckets as 'they traverse the loading station and, if desired, tripping means for the buckets at a dumping station. The end plates i4 on their inner sides are provided with enlarged bosses 23 (Figure 3) having recesses 24 for optionally receiving tripping arms (not shown). Reenforcing webs 25 interconnect the end plates III of the conveyor bucket with the guide ribs I3 to increase the rigidity vof the end wall structure and provide a substantially solid casting. .The bucket pan 26 of the conveyor bucket I3 is illustrated in Figure 4 and indicated generally by the reference character 2S, and said bucket pan 26 includes an arcuately curved bottoni wall 21 having end walls 248 secured thereto to complete the structure." The end walls 28 are provided with inwardly directed marginal `flanges 29 to which the bottom lwall 21 may have its ends secured as by meanslof welding or the like. Each of the end walls 28 of the conveyor bucket pan 26 is cut away as at 30 to receive the enlarged boss 23 on the inner surface of the conveyor bucket and plate members I4. Machinescrews or the like 3I are passed through openings 32 inthe end Walls 2S of the bucket structure so as to securely anchor said bucket structure 26 to the end plate I4 as illustrated clearly in Figure 2. The bottom wall 21 has its free edges slightly angled to provide upstanding flange portions which. reenforce the lips 33 of the bucket pan 26 so-as to prevent bending thereof.

As shown in Figure 2, a loading hopper, generally designated 3Q, is disposed above the conveyor buckets for the purpose of' lling the same and is provided with a short slanting bottom wall portion 35 and a staggered elongated bottorn wall portion 36 thereby forming a discharge spout 3T, inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel to permit the material being loaded to be discharged into the conveyor buckets. In order to prevent the material being discharged from. overflowing the buckets I3, they are tilted slightly' and within the limits of the guide track I 9 by means of an adjustable tilting guide trackway 38 (Figure 2)v engageable with the weighted projections 22.. A; tilting guide trackway 38 is located at each end of the conveyor bucket I3 and is pivotally supported by a pair of bracket members 39 arranged in spaced relation and fastened to the-floor 4U by means of bolts or the like as at 4I. Pivoty links @l2 interconnect the bracketsSS andthe tilting trackway 33 and said interconnecting links are pivoted thereto as at fiar. One end. of each of the tilting tracksor guideways 38 is provided with an eye 44 for pivotally Ireceiving a screw rod 45 so that the free ends ofthe screw rod as at 436 may extend through a bracket 4'! and be adjustably held in place by a locking nut d8. The bracket xlll isA fastened to the iloor 48 by its angle portion 9. It will. thus be seen that the tilting trackway 38 may be raised or lowered in parallelism with the floor 40 so that the rearward lips 33 of the conveyor buckets entering the lling st-ation will be tilted slightly as in Figure 22 so that one end ofthe guide ange I8 willv be the ends. of the conveyor supporting rods Ib.

Said shoes, links and rollers are held in place by .Cotter keys I extending through suitable apertures in the ends of the link pins 9 and conveyor supporting rods I0 respectively.

As illustrated in Figure 3, a pair of material confining plates 52 and 53 are disposed at each side of the loading hopper above and below the opposed channel members E so as to prevent the material being fed to the buckets from escaping laterally and to hold down as much as possible dust arising from the falling of the powdered material. The lower confining plate 52 terminates a short distance short of the ends of the tubular shaft I'I and similarly the upper conning plates 53 have their lower edges terminating a distance in close relation to said tubular shafts II so as to shield the opposed conveyor chains against contamination and clogging by the material being fed to the buckets.

Inuthe operationot the-invention, the conveyor chains 5 are driven in the usual Way by conventignal sprockets (not shown) so that the buckets I3 are caused to move from right to left in Figures 1 and 2, or in the direction indicated by the arrows of the section line 3--3 in Figure 2. As each bucket I 3 arrives at the tilting guide trackways 38, it is tilted forwardly by the engagement'of the ends 22 of the bucket end plate ribs 2| with the trackways 38, so that its rearward or trailing lip 33 is raised abovel its normal traveling level while the forward or leading lip 33 of the. next succeeding bucket I3 is depressed below its normal traveling level. When the guide trackways 38 have been adjusted to their proper heights (Figure 2), the line of direction of discharge"ofmaterial from the spout 31 will fall below a plane drawn through the momentarily raised rearward or trailing lip 33 of the forward bucket I3 and the momentarily depressed forward or leading lip 33 of the next succeeding or rearward bucket I3, with the result that material being discharged from the downwardly and rearwardly inclined spout 31 will fall either into the forward or rearward bucket I3 without falling through the space between saidv buckets I3.

What I claim isz.

l. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of tra-vel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, and bucket-tilting mechanism disposed adjacent said material loader and engageable with each bucket in response to its arrival beneath said loader and adapted to tilt said arriving bucket andA elevate the lip of the trailing edge thereof while depressing the lip` of the leading edge of the next succeeding bucket, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path. of the material as it enters the buckets whereby said elevated edge shields the gap between adjacent buckets against loss of material falling through said gap during4 delivery from said material holder discharge portion into said buckets.

2. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced. conveyor chain guide members, a pair or" conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member connected to each bucket and projecting therefrom, a bucket operating element disposed adjacent said material loader discharge portion and tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position' where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle lthan the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

3. A conveyor structure comprising a pair o f spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair discharge portion of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member connected to each bucket and projecting therefrom, and an abutment mounted in proximity to said material loader and tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets isl of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member coninclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

4. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets pivotally mounted on and between said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member mounted at the end of each bucket and projecting outwardly from the pivotal axis thereof, and an abutment tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

5. Aconveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets pivotally mounted on and between said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member mounted at the end of each bucket and projecting outwardly from the pivotal aXis thereof, and an abutment tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members mounted adjacent the bucket to be tilted and beneath said material loader, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position. where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

6. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction nected to each bucket and projecting therefrom, and a cam mounted in the path of travel of said bucket-tilting members and tiltingly engageable therewith, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

7. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material discharge portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member connected to each bucket and projecting therefrom,

van abutment tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members and movably mounted relatively thereto, and an adjusting device connected to said abutment and engageable therewith to adjustably vary the position of said abutment relatively to said bucket-tilting members, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge portion being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the materialas it enters the buckets.

8. A conveyor structure comprising a pair of spaced conveyor chain guide members, a pair of conveyor chains arranged in supporting engagement with said guide members, conveyor buckets supported by said conveyor chains, a material loader arranged adjacent the path of travel of said buckets and having a material dischargel portion inclined downwardly and rearwardly in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyor travel, a bucket-tilting member connected to each bucket and projecting therefrom, an abutment tiltingly engageable with said bucket-tilting members, and mechanism for adjustably moving said bucket-tilting member and said abutment relatively to one another, each pair of buckets arriving beneath said material discharge position being momentarily tilted forwardly into a position where the plane including the lips of the said pair of buckets is inclined from the horizontal at a greater angle than the path of the material as it enters the buckets.

HENRY W. HAPMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the [ile of this patent: i

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 496,852 Butler May 9, 1893 503,870 McCaslin Aug.'22, 1893 552,664:v Hunt Jan. '7, 1896 1,090,156 Kendall Mar. 17, 1914 2,189,243 Evans Feb. 6, 1940` 

